PS3 – final price, new controller

Price is gonna be a big issue, and I think if Sony get a bloody nose at Xmas, then the PS3s price will not take as long a time to drop as PS2s did (they had no real competition then).

Having 2 price points seems dumb from my, and I guess most other people here's, point of view, because who wants any features missing, but the 'casual gamer' (whoever that is), and any kids who get one bought for them, may not miss the lack of proper HD output and wi-fi/PSP connectivity too much.

One thing I'm real dissapointed about tho, is the lack of dual screen outputs. It could have been an interesting prospect, and last e3 it really made Sony seem like they were pushing the boundaries. Well... at least it still has 7 controllers (um, I hope).

Nope, its got 7 wireless slots - of which 4 will be used for controllers. probably use the other ones for the eye toy etc. Check the back of the controller in the screen shot, 1-4 lights appear to show which controller you're using - much akin to the 360 guide button but less cool looking.

Having 2 price points is a wise move for the ps3, especially given the price. That they've removed functionality in the 20gig version is just a way of forcing people to upgrade in 2 years time when they eventually buy their hdtv. I think this will have more immediate impact in the states where hdtvs are more ubiquitous then over here.

As expected, really.

Pretty good lower-end price, I take it the lower-end model doesn't support HD-TV?

Annoyed that the rumble has gone though - I thought that was a really godo feature of modern controllers.

I'll be snapping up either this or a Wii, currently thinking PS3 will have better games... But let's see what Nintendo come up with tomorrow.

the 7 controllers was another thing that made the PS3 really stand out from the competition last e3, and there I was hoping for 7 player bomberman. b******s! (wish I hadnt sold my saturn now)
:'(

as for the lack of rumble, I rarely even notice it in games anymore, and I got so used to the wavebird that I'm not that bothered that they've left it out.

it doesn't support hdmi output, which is apparently what the fcc is going to enforce as the standard hdtv.

HDMI OUT for the pricer sku
AV Multi output for both
Digital output (Optical) for both

It does still suggest that both sku will be able to produce 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p

The two system thing is even more of a bastard when you reaslise that you can't upgrade it to a full system like you can with the 360core system. You'll have to buy a whole new console to upgrade it.

Lack of HDMI is also a huge loss. No HD Movies or 1080p... the real High Definition?

I don't think 7 controllers going to 4 will will make that much difference, but I will miss the rumble!! Joypads that don't rumble feel dead.

What's an sku?

Oh well, might skip this generation after all.

Let's face it, we have an overpriced PS3 then and Wii with no software.

I'm happy with the Gamecube and GBA.

is that confirmed, the harddrives won't be removable? If so then that's a terrible descison to make. I was wondering whether the 20gig sku was going to the be same box with the option to upgrade to a larger harddrive later, but if they're going to be removing a little plug in the back saying hdmi (because otherwise you know it'll be cracked sooner rather then later)that's just flies in the face of everything they've previously said about ps3 being the true hd experience.

7 controllers always seemed a skewed number to me, its fun occasionally playing multitap with 8 people on fifa but I couldn't think of any games which would really take advantage of it. Plus getting that many people in one room is a bit of a struggle.

Personally I would rather play bomberman online via live or the Wii service (where its more likely to come out, Hudson having signed a deal with Ninty to put their old 16bit games on the Wii (including, hopefully the mega drive version) and the weird 1st person bomberman game for the 360 will hopefully include some old skool gaming bomberman). Plus getting that many mates round at one time is a proper stretch.

I haven't read anything about the HDD being removable. But the 20GB PS3 does not have HDMI, Memory Card slots (SD, etc.), No WiFi and something else missing I can't remember at the moment.

You could probably add a WiFi adapter later, but a HDMI output and Memory Card readers?

I don't think there is anything else missing, at least nothing that's obvious from the press release. My reasoning was whether if it was removable akin to the 360, a harddrive upgrade later could return functionality depending on how everythings set up accross the 2 skus

Ah well, I guess we'll have to wait until someone grows some balls and asks sony outright what's going on with that.


Adam M

Sku stands for stock keeping unit, it commonly refers to billable entities of stock.

In this respect the various flavours of ds are different skus, such that a special edition mario kart ds and a regular one are from different skus. Its typically being used at the moment to talk about the different hardware options offered by sony and Ms with their consoles.

e.g. the core and premium 360 packs have different hardware and pricing, and are catalogued in inventory seperately as two SKUs. Its just a way of corporate speak telling us we've got different options for purchasing their products.

IIRC, no HDMI = no HDCP = no way of playing a Blu-Ray film. That's just plain silly.

And people thought the 360 was a "two tier system of gamers created by hardware".

After reading about the conference last night, thinking I wouldn't get a PS3, and going to bed then reading all the updates this morning, I have come to this conclusion:

There is no way in hell I would ever get one of these. Again, the price is too high for me, and the developments about the controllers, two tiers, and so forth just seal the deal.

But the kicker for me is how evasive Sony has been with not commenting on the differences between the two tiers. Sure, the 360 two tiers is dumb, but at least over time you can get it up to the premium package.

The impression that Sony is running out of creative juice and just running on past successes is clearly evident to me. Say what you will about M$ trying to cash in. That's true -- all of them are. But at least I'm seeing SOMETHING out of them, even if it's variations of the same theme.

I wonder if the exclusion of rumble functionality has anything to do with the legal battles over it?

Also, possible impact on backwards compatibility...can't remember any PS/PS2 titles that rely on rumble as a major gameplay feature but I'm sure there are...not that I consider backwards compatibility to be an issue, but apparently many think its a big deal.

Also, I haven't been paying much attention lately, (my best friend and fellowgamer passed on, games have been leaving me flat) what the hell does Wii mean (I gather its the new moniker for the Ninty nextgen, but??) was there a W and this is the sequel? Looks an awful lot like wwii to meh. Someone at Ninty Marketing was drinking too much sake, methinks.

Well apparently rumble features interfere with the gyroscope so that's why they've taken it out. A feature which could be used for pretty much any game vs something that only a small number of games will take advantage on.

I smell bs, so yeah MS owns 10% of immersion, the company which successfully sued both MS and has been persuing sony for the last 2 years. I guess Sony realised they could be screwed under licencing if they continued to use rumble features so they're continuing to appeal. If they don't successfully appeal soon they will be forced to licence the technology at estimated costs of $30 million a year or prevented from selling software and hardware which takes advantage of the technology (read; any game with feedback and all dual shock controllers)



the site you are looking for is: http://wii.nintendo.com/

It explains the reasoning behind the naming (it means a lot of things in different languages amongst other stuff) and gives a cool little video. The name has begun to grow on me, its not as stupid as it sounds although I do have difficulty talking to my mates about it with a straight face.

Twoaday;

Sony taking the best parts out of other's peoples hardware/software is fine, as long as they do something new and push it forward. E.g. the first dual shock controller used 2 analogue sticks compared to the n64 - they were able to move the tech forward and its had a marked impact in gaming, to the point where 2 analogue sticks were the standard last gen. I can't say I've seen anything that suggests they have got anything which either MS or Ninty would want to copy with the ps3 (notably notably with the controller MS considered using gyroscope technology but rejected it as lacking purpose for anything but a few games).

I'm still considering purchasing one, but I would not even think about buying the neutered version.

It was, because one had different core functionality than the other.

I really don't get what some are bleating about.

The low-end option offers pretty much everything even a hardcore gamer would want - HDTV out, network capable, HD storage.

What's missing?
Smaller HD; this is my biggest issue, but on consideration I figured you'd prolly only fill it with games downloaded from the PS Network platform and video/audio files. Oh, and perhaps replays of Burnout crashes or Singstar Eyetoy (it will come!) videos.

HDMI; might be a problem for BluRay movie playback, but it's not necessary for gaming. Banter here suggest that, so long as the AV out offers HDCP of some sort, then BR movies will play. Myself, I dunno. Discuss. Anway, given the general response of "I'm not rebuying all my DVDs on BluRay", why exactly is this an issue? It'll play those DVDs just fine.

WiFi; okay, so running a hardline for netplay might not be ideal, but it's not removing a core function. It's only a bummer for PSP gamers, and even then, how many games are going to use it? Bugger all! It'll be best suited to audio or video transfer. Besides, since 90% of people here seem to bitch about PSP anyhoo, what's the big deal?

Card reader; another feature that's angled to the home entertainment hub, and ripping it out won't interfere with your gaming.

I think Sony has though about this long and hard, and come up with a great split;

The low-end video gamer's console

The high-end home theatre whore's media hub